Citizens of 105 countries can enter Kazakhstan with electronic visas

Kazakhstan has rolled out simplified entry and stay procedures for foreign visitors, confirming that citizens of 105 countries can apply for electronic visas without visiting an embassy. Minister of Internal Affairs Yerzhan Sadenov announced the update at a June 9, 2026 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. For digital nomads and remote workers, the move keeps short-stay access online while Kazakhstan pushes dedicated nomad visa routes alongside its broader tourism push.

According to The Astana Times, citing the Prime Minister's press service, Sadenov said:

"Citizens of 105 countries can obtain electronic visas without visiting embassies."

The same briefing highlighted the Digital Nomad Visa for IT specialists and the Neo Nomad Visa for tourists, plus online arrival notifications that a host party in Kazakhstan can submit on a visitor's behalf.

Why Kazakhstan is digitizing border entry

Kazakhstan has spent years widening access for foreign travelers. The country first piloted electronic visas in 2019, and official Ministry of Foreign Affairs pages have long listed 105 nationalities as eligible for tourist e-visas, with a smaller list for business and medical categories. The June 2026 announcement reads less like a brand-new policy and more like a public reaffirmation bundled into a wider tourism and migration modernization package.

The government frames the changes as a way to cut embassy friction, speed up arrivals, and support an industry that already contributes 5 trillion tenge (about $10.3 billion) to the economy and supports more than 600,000 jobs, according to figures cited at the June meeting. Foreign tourist spending reached $2.9 billion in 2025, while visits to national parks climbed from 2.8 million in 2024 to 3.7 million in 2025.

At airports and major border crossings, authorities are distributing QR-coded tourist cards with stay rules, emergency contacts, and operator information. A QazETA mobile app is also in development to expand digital migration services, starting with tools like IIN registration for foreign visitors.

The shift sits alongside other Central Asian liberalization moves. Kazakhstan already runs a separate visa-free regime for dozens of countries and has been building out longer-stay visas for entrepreneurs and remote workers, including the Neo Nomad Visa route aimed at tourists and location-independent earners.

What is confirmed and what remains unclear

As of June 2026, the 105-country e-visa figure is confirmed in the government's public messaging and on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-visa page, which states that tourist electronic visas are issued to citizens of 105 states.

What is less tidy is how that number lines up across every official portal. Kazakhstan's e-government visa page still references 109 countries for single-entry electronic visas, while earlier government statements cited 107 countries. Travelers should treat the live MFA country list as the source of truth for their nationality, not secondary news summaries.

It also remains unclear when QazETA will move from pilot to mandatory use, including for visa-exempt travelers who may eventually need an electronic travel authorization before flying in. Authorities have described that step as coming after the pilot period, but no firm deadline is public yet.

Security officials have pushed in the opposite direction on longer stays. A July 2025 law introduced registration requirements for foreigners planning to remain more than 30 days and gave the Ministry of Internal Affairs power to deny invitations from nationals of countries it classifies as migration risks. Critics in the tourism sector warn that tighter backend controls could offset the front-end convenience of online visas if hosts, hotels, or employers hesitate to sponsor travelers.

What this means for digital nomads and remote workers

If your passport country is on the 105-state e-visa list, you can generally apply online instead of booking an embassy appointment. In practice, that still means securing an invitation reference number from a host or inviting party in Kazakhstan, paying the consular fee (commonly cited at $80 for a single-entry visa), and planning to enter through an international airport, as current MFA guidance limits e-visa use to airport checkpoints.

Nomads who only need a short scouting trip may be better served checking whether they already qualify for visa-free entry before applying for an e-visa. Kazakhstan's visa-free rules vary by nationality, with many European, North American, and Asian passport holders allowed 30 days per visit, up to 90 days within 180 days.

Remote workers planning a longer base should look past the tourist e-visa entirely. The Neo Nomad Visa and Digital Nomad Visa categories are built for stays measured in months, not weeks, and come with income, insurance, and documentation requirements that a standard tourist e-visa does not cover.

For now, nothing suggests a sudden shutdown of online applications. The June announcement is active policy messaging, not a draft proposal. If you are already in Kazakhstan on a valid visa or visa-free stay, your current status does not change because of the press briefing alone. Watch for updates on QazETA, any new registration rules for stays beyond 30 days, and published country-list revisions on gov.kz before your next trip.

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